The Contra Costa County Emergency Operations Center (EOC) is a new, two-story state-of-the-art headquarters for the Contra Costa County Sheriff. The EOC building was built to be functionally self-sufficient for seven days in an emergency, allowing it to run completely independent from the grid, operating on its own electrical, water and sewer systems.

A 750-kW generator, fed by an underground fuel tank, enables the facility to operate independently for up to seven days. Water resilience is achieved through a 50,000-gallon potable water tank and a 35,000-gallon fire water tank, while a 12,000-gallon sanitary sewer holding tank ensures continued operation of building systems even in the event of utility failure. In addition, the project relocated the existing photovoltaic array and expanded its capacity, with new solar panels and battery systems bringing the total renewable energy capability to 162 kW.

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Sunnyvale City Hall stands as the centerpiece in the City’s reimagined Civic Campus, one piece of the larger Civic Center Modernization Phase 1 project. The new 118,000 SF, four-story building enables the City to collocate all their departments under one roof. Its north façade meets the edge of Olive Avenue, inviting the community inside for easy accessibility to city services, from a one-stop permit center to the public works department. The modern council chamber creates an intimate, fully accessible space beneath a wood ceiling that mimics sunlight filtering through tree leaves. A curving central stair in the lobby encourages movement and exploration, while calm, light-filled workspaces and outdoor terraces provide opportunities to work in nature. Departmental offices span the floors and include smart conference and training rooms. Every space features durable, high-performing materials free of harmful chemicals and integrate sustainable lighting and shade solutions.

The new City Hall building includes a microgrid system that allows the building to operate not just from the generator but to switch to the 680kW photovoltaic array and 250kWh battery energy storage systems. The microgrid provides the capability to keep critical departments running for days, depending on the output of the array. By leveraging solar power stored during the day, the system provides the capability to maintain essential services, including emergency response, public safety coordination and city operations for multiple days without reliance on the external grid. Sunnyvale City Hall is a model for sustainable civic design, showcasing its solar array proudly and achieving Net Zero Energy performance and LEED Platinum Certification.

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Located in Pasadena, California, the $193 million state-of-the-art Caltech Chen Neuroscience Research Building (CNRB) fosters cross-disciplinary collaboration, providing wet, dry and computational research labs. The building serves as the university’s new administrative and knowledge center for the Division of Biology and Biological Engineering, supporting more than a dozen principal investigators.

The sensitive and long-term research occurring within the Chen Neuroscience Research Building requires extreme electrical reliability. A loss of power would cause the neuroscience research occurring in the building to be set back years, if not decades. To provide the desired level of reliability, the CNRB building runs independently from the Pasadena power grid, enabling Caltech to operate without disruption and meet sustainability goals. Electrical service is provided through three distinct methods:

1. Normal 24/7/365 electrical service is provided by Bloom hydrogen fuel cells, which utilize highly reliable natural gas to create very clean electricity. Fuel cells are not only reliable but also very sustainable since they convert natural gas fuel into clean electricity through an electrochemical reaction instead of combustion. This process virtually eliminates criteria air pollutants, including Nitrogen oxides (NOx) and Sulfur oxides (SOx), which are emitted by conventional power plants.

1. Should the unexpected occur and the Bloom Fuel Cells fail, the power source would automatically transfer to Pasadena Water and Power, a reliable local utility that provides electricity to the balance of the Caltech Campus.

1. Should both the fuel cells and Pasadena Water Power fail, a diesel-powered generator with 16 hours of fuel would automatically start to meet the critical power needs within the Chen Research Building.

These three interconnected and reliable sources of electrical power will allow the neuroscience research at Caltech to occur without the risk of losing research due to electrical failure.

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The new CARB Southern California Headquarters – Mary D. Nichols Campus supports the state of California’s climate initiatives of the highest standards of sustainable practices. The 19-acre, 408,000 SF facility achieved the California Green Building Standards Code (CALGreen) Tier 2 standards and LEED Platinum certification. As the largest and most advanced regulatory vehicle emissions testing and research facility in the world, the facility includes an extended range of dedicated test cells, especially for testing heavy-duty vehicles, an advanced chemistry laboratory and workspace for accommodating new test methods for future generations of vehicles. The project also includes space for developing enhanced onboard diagnostics and portable emissions measurement systems, visitor reception and education areas, a media center, flexible conference areas and a large public auditorium.

Solar arrays throughout the campus generate 3.5 megawatts of electricity and a chilled beam temperature management systems provide increased energy efficiency and occupant comfort. A 1.5 MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) is incorporated with the PV system to absorb excess PV and integrates with a power monitoring system to store excessive PV production for use later during peak evening demand periods. Energy generated in test cells is captured by AC dynamometers for direct use or storage in the facility battery system.

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The design-build project provides a mission critical facility for the Social Security Administration (SSA), comprised of a Data Center, Office Building, Facility Access Center, Warehouse, Service Yard, and Energy Center. The NSC is the first LEED Gold data center for the General Services Administration. The facility complies with Mission Critical Criteria from the Uptime Institute Tier 3 design certification standards and contains the infrastructure necessary to support an IT load of 6 Megawatt (MW), expandable to 10 MW.

The NSC is the first LEED Gold Certified data center constructed for the General Services Administration. A large data center by nature consumes a significant amount of energy through the operation of the IT equipment. This presented an opportunity for the design team to reduce the energy usage required for the facility. Significant savings were realized with the use of water-cooled chillers and heat recovery wheels to operate the chillers with little to no load in the data center White Space, while using heat recovery chillers for latent cooling and hot water production. The use of an elevated chilled water supply temperature for sensible cooling allowed the waterside economizer to be used at over 70% of the yearly hours. This central plant design, along with custom computer room air handlers (CRAH) and the associated chilled water distribution system, helped achieve 40% LEED energy savings and 52% EPACT energy savings.

Additional efficiency measures include a 1 MW fixed tilt photovoltaic (PV) ground-mounted array. The solar PV system is a 1 MW Direct Current (DC) net metering operation utilizing a bi-directional utility meter, allowing the customer to quantify the amount of power produced versus the power that is imported. The total system is comprised of 75 sub-arrays, each consisting of 56 250-watt rack-mounted modules (manufactured by REC) spread out over approximately four acres of the project site. The sub-arrays are configured into four rows of 14 modules, each facing due south with a fixed tilt angle of 25 degrees on a moderate grade incline of six to 10 percent, which is supported with driven steel piles. Each sub-array is then combined to a single Satcon 1 MW utility-grade inverter with factory integrated/tested step-up transformer, disconnects and power conversion electronics. A solar thermal system produces 30% of the domestic hot water demand for the facility.

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Electric vehicle (EV) charging stations are being built throughout Hawaii as part of the federal National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program. This program promotes the adoption of electric vehicles by developing Direct Current Fast Charging stations at strategic locations. It aims to accelerate the adoption of EVs, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and position the U.S. as a leader in global transportation electrification.

In collaboration with Sustainability Partners and the Hawaii Department of Transportation (HDOT), ³ÉÈ˸£ÀûÊÓƵ is designing, constructing and installing microgrid systems at 11 HDOT base yards on Oahu, Maui, Kauai, Hawaii Island, Molokai and Lanai, totaling $25 million. The microgrid systems include the infrastructure and equipment to charge the HDOT’s fleet of electric vehicles and provide supplemental power to each facility.

³ÉÈ˸£ÀûÊÓƵ will also expand its work with the NEVI program, including designing, constructing and installing seven charging stations totaling $50.1 million. The NEVI program will fund four 150-kilowatt direct current chargers and support structures for each location. These new projects bring the total contract value of the Sustainability Partners EV Program to over $75 million.

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